International distributor Walt Disney Pictures and English language version producers GKIDS have released a theatrical trailer for acclaimed Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli's next breathtaking animated film, From Up on Poppy Hill. Written by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by his son, Goro Miyazaki, the coming-of-age story is set to arrive in U.S. theaters on March 15th. A WDHE Blu-ray release is expected to follow later this year.
Official synopsis: Set in Yokohama in 1963, as Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics, the story centers on Umi and Shun, two high school kids caught up in the changing times. But a buried secret from their past emerges to cast a shadow on the future and pull them apart. With its rich color palette, stunning exteriors, sun-drenched gardens, bustling cityscapes and painterly detail, From Up on Poppy Hill provides a pure, sincere, and nuanced evocation of the past, and marks yet another creative triumph for Studio Ghibli. The voice cast for the English version of the film features Sarah Bolger, Anton Yelchin, Christina Hendricks, Bruce Dern, Gillian Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Charlie Saxton, Chris Noth, Beau Bridges, Aubrey Plaza, Emily Osment and Ron Howard, among others.
Embedded below is From Up on Poppy Hill's newly released, English-dubbed theatrical trailer, followed by the original Japanese trailer with English subtitles.
Bought the blu-ray last week, after having seen it in theaters eons ago. Not as good as Hayao's own stuff, but still one of the best animated films of 2011 and a rare purely anchored in reality offering from Studio Ghibli.
LOVE Ghibli films. Will definitely buy it.
But I'm still not sold on his son Goro directing it. Tales from Earthsea wasn't up to par with other Ghibli films.
But this will definitely mean more Ghibli films will be released with this movie
Hoping for My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service (which are my all time favorites and next in chronological order of theatrical release)
I have a feeling that My Neighbor Totoro will be coming out on Blu-Ray the same day as this day (based on the pattern of Blu-Ray releases for past Studio Ghibli films). The only question: what will be the other film that will be leased along side Poppy Hill and Totoro (I'm rooting for Castle of Cagliostro myself).
Disney doesn't own Cagliostro (does Manga still?), and unless a miracle reception happens, think this one won't get wide major disk release any more than Tales From Earthsea did. (Otherwise they'd have dubbed it themselves.)
But yes, going by Japanese releases, think Totoro's next for July. Just a guess, though.
I saw this as part of an anime film festival late last year and it was wonderful. It was the original Japanese voice cast with English subs. I'm not a purist, I often prefer the English dubs but I think the Japanese voice cast did a better job here. The English dub sound pretty darn good though. Just not one of the best. I'll have to watch it all the way through with the English dub to make a definitive decision on which I like better but this is one of those cases where I really loved the Japanese voice cast.
The art/cinematography is stunning, the music is gorgeous, the story is lightweight and enjoyable and it's a massive, massive step up from Goro Miyazaki's first effort Tales from Earthsea which effectively broke Ghibli's epic hit streak. Hopefully it's a sign of good things to come from him.
From up on Poppy Hill ranks around the middle in Ghibli's cannon though I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since I saw it and I believe it may crawl up in ranks the more times I see it. Really loved it and can't wait for an affordable blu-ray release of it!
Yeah, no way Disney's releasing this.. the whole [HUUUUUGE SPOILER AHEAAAAADDDD] incestual subtext thing is going to turn them off. If anything, GKids is going to do both the theatrical and home video release.
Walt Disney Studios is releasing the Blu-ray? GKIDS themselves said they own both theatrical and home video rights to this film. Either way, I am really excited to see this and hope it gets a wide enough release to come to my local theater. I'll definitely be buying the Blu-ray day one! I'll also be hoping that Disney puts out a few more of the catalog titles on Blu-ray this year.
I own the UK blu-ray of Howl's Moving Castle and My Neighbor Totoro. They look completely amazing--reference material. These movies were the reason I got a multi-region player. Too good to wait.
Yeah, I think that GKids also has the home video and digital rights, but I guess I wouldn't be surprised if they hand over the home video rights to Disney. Either way, I hope Disney releases more Ghibli films on Blu-ray.
The English dub looks good in the trailer. I am sure it will be as Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy also produced the english dubs of Ponyo and the Secret World of Arrietty for Disney.
I don't think GKIDS has a formal home video division per se; rather, it would seem that they subcontract the home video rights to another company, and given that Disney co-produced the Japanese original and has the home video rights to the bulk of Ghibli's films (Grave of the Fireflies and Ocean Waves being the exceptions), it would make sense that GKIDS subcontracted the home video rights to Disney.
I'd probably put this between Whisper of the Heart and Arriety on my Ghibli movie ranking. I enjoyed it since there are few Ghibli movies that have a sense of real world realism to them (***spoiler*** besides the whole incestual "twist" ***spoiler****). Though I say that but I believe the best Ghibli films are the ones where Miyazaki has made a completely new world and the magic just oozes and flows out of the screen.
And....................... waiting till after this is released before I buy, since Disney has an abysmal track record when it comes to providing proper subtitles for Ghibli titles. 3 for 3 on bad subtitles for Laputa: Castle in the Sky, for instance. 2 for 2 on Kiki... And even on something that should be simple, like The Cat Returns, which Disney US was the last branch of Buena Vista to release it (ALL of those before it having perfect subtitles and DTS Japanese audio), Disney threw out the literal subtitle translation in favor of dubtitles of their newly created dub, and of course dropped the DTS 5.1 Japanese for their downmixed Dolby Digital 2.0 Japanese track... Really, truly great handling of these properties, Disney... Sheesh.
And as far as whether Disney would release something with questionable material, just remember they were the ones, through dubbing alone, that could twist Pompoko into something acceptable to young US audiences. They'll find a way to make a buck, as long as they don't have to lower themselves to pleasing original language purists, those dollars they apparently don't always want.
International distributor Walt Disney Pictures and English language version producers GKIDS have released a theatrical trailer for acclaimed Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli's next breathtaking animated film, 
